Inflation is settling “sustainably” in France, it would even be only half of its maximum level, warns Dominique Schelcher, the president of System U. He also fears a strong tension to come on the butter of fall here.
L’inflation still weighs down the budget of the French and it is not about to stop! guest on FranceInfo this Wednesday, June 15, Dominique Schelcherthe president of System U, estimate that the increase of the prix “settles permanently”. The reason, according to him, is “a lasting backdrop” which is pulling prices up for both structural and cyclical reasons.
But that’s all, for the boss of the U stores, we are not “not yet at the peak of inflation“. Currently between 4% and 5%, the rate could climb and “reach between 8% and 10% over the whole of 2022”, he warns.
We continue to receive increases from our suppliers every day, which we are discussing and which we will be forced to pass on in the coming weeks and months.
Even if the brand has decided to trim some of its margins, Dominique Schelcher indicates that the energy, transport and raw material prices agricultural products do not allow a concrete reduction to be passed on to the consumer.
Butter, the next victim of shortages?
We remember a few weeks ago these empty oil rays and crush with each restocking in supermarkets. Scenes that could happen again but this time would concern another consumer product: the butter.
If for the moment, the boss of System U notices “ruptures slightly beaded, depending on production difficulties or the availability of packaging”, on certain products, butter would be the next victim of a more generalized shortage.
“Very clearly, I am watching very closely the butter“, he explains, “our suppliers alert me to the availability of butter starting in the fall.”
The reason ? “We produce less milk each year in France, so there is less fat”, adds the trader, whose fault lies in “the very strong international market with a lot of butter purchases abroad”.
The lack could be felt in the coming months. “I fear that the supply will be complicated at the end of the year. Moreover, the manufacturers who produce with butter are already telling me so”, alert Dominique Schelcher.